Prepared & Positioned
gtcotr/ss090306
Key Scripture: Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (NIV)
Look at someone and say: God’s still working on you!
What you are experiencing is not designed as punishment for your past but positioning for your future.
What do a slave, a carpenter and a politician have in common?
* Lets look at the bible and see.
I. The Slave
* Joseph, Son of Jacob
Genesis 41:16 "I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." (NIV)
> A Humble Man
> Prepared and Positioned for his greatest service to God
II. The Carpenter
* Joseph, Foster Father to Jesus
Matthew 1:19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. (NIV)
> A Righteous Man
> Prepared and Positioned for his greatest service to God
III. The Politician
* Joseph of Arimathea
Mark 15:43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (NIV)
> An Bold Man
> Prepared and Positioned for his greatest service to God
Here are just three old Joes who lived in different times, came from different backgrounds and had very different stations in life.
Yet these three men had one thing in common: They were all three chosen by God to do a specific work which only they could do.
You see, God spends a great amount of time preparing and positioning people to play critical roles in His plan.
God intervenes in the affairs of each of us from the time we are born until the time we die. He offers us opportunities each day and with each decision we make, good or bad, He re-writes our future into His plan and offers us a new best and greatest day ahead.
Look at somebody and tell them: God’s still working on me.
The writer of Lamentations tells us that the reason we are not completely consumed is the fact that God’s mercies are new every morning and great is His faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:23)
God spent a great deal of time preparing and positioning:
* Abraham - from childless to a father of many nations
* Ester - from an orphan to a Queen (if you don’t do it …)
* Moses - from a law breaker to a law giver
Wrong decisions, bad decisions and costly mistakes are a part of the process, not the problem.
* Ruth - from a barren widow to a joyful mother
* Daniel - from a slave to a governor
* Paul - from a persecutor of Christians to an Evangelist
Life is not a collage of coincidences or the result of unguided or unguarded circumstances.
The hand of God is on your life and you are most likely more in the will of God than you give yourself credit for.
Psalms 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. (NKJV)
What is our part?
Proverbs 3 - Our Proverb of the Day (NKJV)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
God is Preparing and Positioning you for your greatest service. And He is so much bigger than your ability to mess it up. Just ask David and Bathsheba, Jacob and Leah, Peter or Silas.
Does this mean we should take our liberty and just do whatever we want knowing that God’s mercy is greater than His judgment and that where sin does abound God’s grace does much more abound?
No! God forbid! (Romans 6:2)
However, we can rest assured that God meets us at our point of need and when we trust in Him, He delivers us and positions us for our greatest service to His kingdom plan.
God is going to use both your best and your worst days to make you more like Him.
He is preparing and positioning you for your greatest service.
Put your life in His hands and watch Him work. Be confident that:
God’s still working on you and the journey is your friend.
